AUGUST 25, 2011 – Celebrity trendsetters and Hollywood moms have teamed up to create unique maternity jeans so a few lucky moms-to-be can own a pair of one-of-a-kind jeans, personally embellished by a star.

Celebrity moms Laila Ali, Heidi Klum, Naomi Watts, Jewel, Nicole Sullivan, Diane Farr, Camila Alves, Busy Philipps, and Kaitlin Olson each have embellished a pair of designer maternity denim as part of an online auction, “Celebrities 4 Maternity Denim.” The auction is an initiative between the March of Dimes and Destination Maternity to raise awareness about the importance of preventing preterm birth so more babies can get a healthy start in life.

The denim will be auctioned off to the public from August 25 to September 22 on www.biddingforgood.com/celebs4maternitydenim. Bidding will begin at $300 per pair of jeans. All of the proceeds will support March of Dimes work to help moms have full-term pregnancies and stronger, healthier babies.

“Now moms can be even more stunning in one-of-a-kind jeans, personally designed by their favorite celebrity icon,” said Jane Massey, Executive Vice President of the March of Dimes. “We are thrilled to work with Destination Maternity and these generous celebrity moms to connect with moms and give them the information they need to have full-term pregnancies and healthier babies.”

New and expectant moms and their guests are invited to Destination Maternity’s Fashion’s Night Out celebration hosted by Laila Ali, athlete and champion of health and beauty, to see the denim on display. Fashion’s Night Out will be held at Destination Maternity’s flagship store, 28 East 57th Street at Madison Avenue in New York City, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8th. Guests can bid online from the store that evening.
“We are proud to partner with the March of Dimes on this initiative,” said Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Maternity. “This auction makes a strong statement of support for a cause Destination Maternity believes in and has supported for many years.”

Destination Maternity, through its A Pea in the Pod®, Motherhood® Maternity and Destination Maternity® stores, is a national partner in the March of Dimes campaign to prevent premature birth, which is a leading cause of death and disability for babies. This national campaign increases public awareness of the problems of prematurity, educates pregnant women, provides information and comfort to parents of babies in newborn intensive care units (NICU), advocates to expand access to health insurance for women of childbearing age, and works to reduce the preterm birth rate.

In the United States, more than half a million infants are born too soon each year and premature birth is the leading cause of infant death. Babies who survive often have lifelong health problems such as cerebral palsy, vision and hearing loss, and intellectual disabilities. Even infants born just a few weeks early have a greater risk of re-hospitalization, breathing problems, feeding difficulties, temperature instability (hypothermia), jaundice and delayed brain development.

Destination Maternity Corporation is the world’s largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel. In the United States and Canada, as of July 31, 2011, Destination Maternity operates 2,358 retail locations, including 660 stores, predominantly under the tradenames Motherhood Maternity®, A Pea in the Pod®, and Destination Maternity®, and sells on the web through its DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific websites.

Destination Maternity also distributes its Oh Baby by Motherhood® collection through a licensed arrangement at Kohl’s® stores throughout the United States and on Kohls.com. In addition, Destination Maternity is expanding internationally and has exclusive store franchise and product supply relationships in India, the Middle East and South Korea. As of July 31, 2011, Destination Maternity has 60 international franchised locations, including 47 shop-in-shop locations and 13 Destination Maternity branded stores.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.